


A Day Trip to the Zoo

by catiemo, DracoPendragon



Series: Unexpected Car Rides [13]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alpacas, Animals, Fluff, M/M, Vague talks of future, Zoo
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-12-27
Updated: 2013-12-27
Packaged: 2018-01-06 09:40:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,770
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1105284
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/catiemo/pseuds/catiemo, https://archiveofourown.org/users/DracoPendragon/pseuds/DracoPendragon
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Gabriel drags Sam along to the zoo one day, resulting in a sugar rush, animal comparisons, talk of alpacas and a promise from Sam.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Day Trip to the Zoo

Sam hadn't been to the zoo in years, but the familiar excitement he felt as they bought their tickets made him feel like a kid again.

The whole thing had been Gabe's idea; he said it was too nice outside to spend the day indoors, so he practically dragged Sam into his car – not that he needed much convincing. "I've always loved animals," he said as they entered the zoo.

'Yeah? That's cool,' said Gabriel as he looked around for a stall where he could buy some cotton candy. 'What animal do you wanna go see first?'

He had remembered Sam mentioning a school field trip to the zoo may years ago, and how much fun he had had. Since then, he had been searching for the ideal opportunity to recreate Sam's childhood nostalgia.

"Let's go see the otters," Sam said, consulting the map, "they're pretty close."

'To the otters it is,' said Gabe, with a sweeping gesture to indicate that Sam should lead the way. He grabbed hold of his lover's hand gently as they walked.

Sam gave Gabe's hand a little squeeze, the action almost a reflex at this point. They walked to the otter habitat and watched the furry creatures swim around under the water. There was one floating on its back, cramming food into its face.

"That one reminds me of you," Sam teased.

Gabriel mocked offence at Sam's words before looking more closely at the otter he had been likened to. 'Yeah,' he agreed. 'We're both adorable as hell, wouldn't you agree?'

He looked for one to which he could compare Sam, but gave up after deciding that if Sam were to be compared to an animal, said beast would not be an otter.

"Totally agreed," Sam nodded, nudging his arm against Gabe's. "Where now?"

'Cotton candy!' Gabriel declared, as he spotted a stall laden with sweet treats. He pulled Sam along behind him and joined the queue, buzzing excitedly at the prospect of the sugary snack.

"Your dentist would be appalled to see half the things you put into your mouth," Sam said.

'Oh I don't doubt that for a second,' Gabriel said. 'However, there's one thing of yours that I put in my mouth that she is never going to see.' He winked at Sam, pleased with his way of making everything into some form of innuendo.

"She'd be happy about that one," Sam said, his voice as level as he could make it. "There's a lot of calcium and vitamins and stuff so it's actually really good for your teeth."

Gabriel gave him a sideways glance, along with a raised eyebrow before asking the stall tender for their largest bucket of cotton candy. 'Thanks,' he smiled politely as he paid for his purchase.

'So if it's good for my teeth, can I do it more? Seeing as how it’s beneficial and all,' he asked before he tore into the fluffy sugar in the bucket.

"Have you ever heard me complaining?" Sam laughed and then snuck his hand into the bucket, pulling out a small chunk and popping it into his mouth.

'No, mostly you moan my name and various other more unsavoury words,' Gabe pointed out. He pulled his bucket closer to him, clutching at it possessively. 'Hey, get your own, I paid for this!'

Sam laughed and gave Gabe a playful shove. "We should maybe stop talking about this in public," he said.

'Fine, sexy talk saved for less public places,' sighed Gabriel. 'What animal do you want to see next?' He looked into his bucket, and was sad to discover that a quarter of the cotton candy was already gone. 'Do you think lions can eat this?'

"Don't you dare feed an obligate carnivore your sugary processed crap," Sam threatened as they came up to the lion's den.

'Aaw, fine,' sighed Gabriel petulantly. He eagerly stuffed more cotton candy in his mouth as he moved closer to the glass separating him from the lions. 'Look, that one's me,' he said, mouth still full of food. He pointed at one of the lions nearby, which had a large mane and was lazing about on a rock.

"No way," Sam said, "way too calm. You're more like that one." He pointed to a smaller lion which was pouncing from rock to rock with no clear purpose.

'Well then you're that one,' said Gabe, pointing at the lion with the largest mane. 'Want to ask him where he gets his hair done?'

Sam laughed and then turned his attention to the map. "What do you want to see next?"

'The avia- avio- that posh word people use for where the birds are,' said Gabriel. Wings had always fascinated him, ever since he was a child. And he loved the wide spectrum of colours the birds displayed.

“Aviary," Sam supplied as he consulted the map. "It's all the way on the other side of the zoo, but we can make our way in that general direction and see what else we come across."

'Well I suppose that's a good thing and all. Wouldn't want the lions to snap up the little birdies in their jaws now, would we?' he said.

He moved stealthily to grab the map from Sam, but tripped over his own feet and nearly fell into an older couple walking in the opposite direction to them. 'Sorry!' he called to them as they looked at him as though he were a common drunkard.

Sam helped stabilize Gabe and then handed him the map, giggling a bit at the couple's reaction. "Why is it everywhere we go, you attract attention?"

'You gotta make the best out of life, Sammo,' smiled Gabriel as he swung his cotton candy bucket at his side. 'For me, that means making people's lives a little more interesting, and also having lots of fun myself, in more ways than one.' He waggled his eyebrows suggestively before being distracted by the reptile house. 'Ooooooh let's go, Sam, come on!' he whined.

"Okay," Sam said, following Gabe into the building. "I've always found herpetology interesting," Sam said, looking at a tank of small lizards.

'Isn't that an STI?' Gabriel asked as he looked around for the giant snakes. He eventually settled himself in front of a tank which contained a python, and watched it as is slid over the dead leaves in its vivarium.

"It's the study of reptiles and amphibians," Sam sighed, joining Gabe by the python. He put his arm around his boyfriend's shoulder and gave him a light kiss on the head. "You're lucky I love you."

'That makes sense,' Gabriel reasoned. He rested his head against Sam as he studied the snake for a few more moments. 'I know I am.'

"I'm lucky too," Sam said. They always seemed to have these conversations in the weirdest places, but he didn't mind.

Gabriel held out his almost empty bucket of cotton candy. 'Want some before I eat the rest?'

Sam pulled a chunk off and stuck it in his mouth. "Thanks," he said as the sugar dissolved on his tongue.

'Huh. I thought you didn't like unhealthy stuff,' said Gabe accusingly, looking at his boyfriend through narrowed eyes as he stuffed the last of the food in his mouth.

"I like it," Sam argued, "I just don't gorge myself on it like you do."

'I do not gorge myself on it!' Gabriel protested. 'Hey, how much sugar was in that?'

"It's like 99.9 percent sugar," Sam said, "the other 0.1 percent is flavoring. It's like eating a pixie stick."

'Funny. I feel a sudden urge to steal a penguin.' He turned to look at Sam gleefully. 'Sam, can we get a penguin?'

"Gabe, we're not getting a penguin," Sam laughed.

'But why not? They're cute and fluffy and totally adorable. Come on, Sam, pleeease?' Gabriel begged as he moved to quickly study the other animals before leaving the reptile house.

"I'm pretty sure that you cannot legally own a penguin. Plus, where would we keep it? It can't survive here, it's too hot."

'The guy from Mr Popper's Penguins did it okay,' said Gabriel as his argument. He often turned to films as justifications for his actions. Not that it usually got him anywhere.

"Fiction, Gabe," Sam argued. Gabe's pout was gone almost immediately when Sam pointed out the alpacas.

'Excuse me, sir, how much would I have to pay you to be allowed to ride on one of the alpacas? Is there a huge difference between alpacas and llamas? How about camels?' Gabriel asked the person who was overlooking the alpacas.

Sam blushed deep red and hissed a quiet "Shut up, Gabriel" as the worker walked away. "You are so embarrassing sometimes."

'But I want an alpaca ride,' pouted Gabe.

"Someday," Sam said, "I will buy you an alpaca and you can ride it all you want."

Gabriel's face lit up with pure joy. 'So when you're a big fancy lawyer and earning the big bucks, you'll let me get my very own alpaca named Alfonso and I can take alpaca rides whenever I want?'

"We are not naming our alpaca Alfonso."

'Why not? Alfonso's a good name for an alpaca, it uses alliteration and everything!'

“If you insist on alliteration, why not something cute, like Alfie?”

'Alfonso's more exciting than Alfie.'

“I'm not going to win this, am I?"

'Nooope. Can we go see the birds now?'

'Alright, let's go see the birds,' Sam agreed.

'Are you sure you know where you're going?' asked Gabriel as they walked past the mini aquarium, which he knew for a fact to be nowhere near the aviary.

"We're taking the long way," Sam said, reclaiming Gabriel's hand. "I want to see the monkeys."

'Why though? All they do is eat bananas and throw their own poop,' said Gabriel, disgruntled.

"They have prehensile tails, and if you don't think that's cool, I'm not sure I'll get you that alpaca."

'Not my alpaca! Sure prehemewhatsit tails are cool, just don't crush my dreams of having an alpaca,' said Gabriel hurriedly.

Sam chuckled. "I love how we're talking about the future," he said, knowing that they would have to talk about it more seriously sooner rather than later. Graduation was quickly approaching and Sam was pretty sure that would change things in their relationship. For now, though, he was glad to talk about it in the vaguest terms.

Gabriel's sugar rush was momentarily sobered by the subject. 'I think any future with you in it is ideal,' he said. The sugar soon prevailed over his conscience, for he added 'and Alfonso. We can't forget about Alfonso.'

Sam laughed and felt a rush of affection for the way Gabriel was always able to make him smile. "That's kind of a weird ideal," he teased.

'Alpacas make everything ideal, Samsquatch,' Gabriel said knowingly.

They had made it to the monkey cage by now and Sam smiled as he watched the baby monkeys swing on tires and pick bugs from another monkey's fur. "Seriously, how do you not like monkeys?"

Gabriel looked at the baby monkeys. 'Sure, they're cute. But have you seen baboons?' He shuddered. 'Ew. I just prefer birds, myself.'

"Alright, bird boy, let's go see your feathered friends."

'Bird _man_ ,' said Gabriel. 'If I'm gonna be a superhero, I don't want people thinking I'm some young, adolescent teen to be used for getting cats out of trees.'

"Are you saying you wouldn't save a kitty from a tree?"

'Depends. Would you give me a reward for going to such valiant effort to save the life of an innocent little kitten?'

"A good deed is its own reward, all superheroes know that," Sam teased.

'Yadda yadda, philosophy's boring. Ooooh look there it is!' he cried as he spotted the entrance to the aviary, drawing the attention of passers-by.

Sam shook his head indulgently and let himself be dragged into the building. He liked birds as well, and this zoo had a pretty impressive selection.

Gabriel pulled Sam over to the parrots. 'Try make one of them talk.'

"Pretty bird," Sam said to a particularly colorful bird. The bird squawked back a "pretty bird," and Sam smiled. "Gabe's a dork," he said. The bird replied with a "dork."

'That's true. But not too many non-dorks would know that you're not actually teaching it to speak. Because you know, to speak requires a cognitive ability to understand, which birds don't have. They just… well, imitate.' Gabriel smiled as he looked at another bird resting on its perch, where it was joined a second later by another one.

"I'm impressed, Gabe. Where have you been hiding those smarts?"

'I've never had the need to talk about birds before,' Gabriel shrugged as he watched the two birds huddle close to each other. He mimicked the action, moving so he was standing closer to Sam. 'You know, Lovebirds mate for life. It's kinda sweet.'

"Penguins do too," Sam said, wrapping an arm around Gabe, "and when they find their mate, they give them a pebble as a promise."

'Which reminds me... Operation Stealth Penguin is a go,' Gabe said conspiratorially as he pretended to be a spy. 'If not a real penguin, can I at least get a cuddly penguin as well as Alfonso the alpaca? That can be our promise.'

"We'll see what they have in the gift shop," Sam agreed.

'And also more cotton candy,' added Gabriel. He turned to look for the birds of prey. 'Come on, Sam, let's see if we can find an owl that's smarter than you.'

Sam followed his boyfriend through the aviary, stopping to look at a few of the more interesting birds. They vaguely looked at some more of the animals as they made their way back to the main entrance.

'Sam, can we go to the gift shop before we go?' Gabriel asked as they were about to leave.

"Right," Sam said, remembering his promise. "You find your cotton candy, I'll get you your penguin."

Sam found a small bow-tie penguin and came across a bin of polished rocks. He picked one out that was close to Gabe's eye color and paid for his things, giving them to Gabriel when he found him already half way through the tub of spun sugar.

Gabriel's eyes widened as he saw the plush Sam had got him. It had a cute bow tie, and as everyone knew, bow ties are definitely cool. Sam had also gotten him a smooth rock. 'Sam, these are lovely. I didn't get you anything...' He looked down ashamedly, before looking up. He stuck out his new bucket of cotton candy. 'Here, have this. My teeth'll rot away if I keep up the way I'm going.'

"I don't need anything," Sam assured him. "I'm making a promise. All I want is for you to accept it."

'Well then I accept your promise, Sam Winchester,' smiled Gabriel as he leaned in to kiss Sam gently.

Sam returned the kiss, not caring that they were in public. "What are you going to name your penguin?" he asked.

'Hmm... Peter. Peter the penguin and Alfonso the alpaca,' grinned Gabriel

"I swear, if we have kids, I'm not letting you name them." Sam said before he realized what he was implying. It's one thing to promise some vague sense of a future but quite another to bring up the possibility of a family.

'Why, do you think I'd call them Georgia the girl and Bobby the boy?' Gabriel joked. 'You hungry?' he asked, digressing from the talk of family. 'I'm starving. We could eat out, or order a takeaway and marathon Harry Potter. Whaddaya reckon?'

"I was thinking more like marathoning the Iron Man movies," Sam said.

'As long as I'm with you, I'd watch anything, so long as it isn't a crappy movie adaption of a great book,' said Gabriel. 'What do you want; Chinese, Indian, Italian?'

"Pizza," Sam countered.

'Pizza is good. Toppings?'

Sam gave Gabe a look he hoped implied that Gabe should really know what Sam liked on his pizza.

'Don't look at me like that, I know what you want on your damn pizza.' He walked towards the car, Sam's hand entwined in his. 'I hope you had a good day.'

"The best," Sam confirmed, giving Gabe a light kiss before getting into the car. Sam had not been this happy in his life, and even though Gabriel would be graduating soon, he ignored all his worries about the future and just let himself be content in the moment, and it was enough.


End file.
